Frost and Flame
by 21ShootingStars
Summary: Harry has an older brother who is there the night Voldemort attacks. Together they stop the Killing Curse, but the magic world thinks it was just Harry.They grow up apart & meet for the first time at Hogwarts. AU, Time-Travel to Founders Era, mistaken BWL
1. Chapter 1

Author's note- Hello. I'm going to try this again, because all the previous attempts have failed. I think if I get it right, then this will be a good story. I guess we'll see.

This first chapter will be relatively long, but the first year at Hogwarts truly isn't very important to the story, and I'd like to get it out of the way quickly, so…yeah, this chapter is first year. We'll get to Hermione and Harry and all those people next chapter.

_**This story is not Half Blood Prince compliant. Snape is a pureblood and Horcruxes, what Horcruxes? I don't like Horcruxes, so they don't exist.**_

Disclaimer- I believe you should know by now that I don't own this. If you don't, well….J. is the owner of the Harry Potter series.

_CHAPTER ONE_

_Italics are thoughts of David's_

"Speech is in quotations"

_҉_

_The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.__  
><em>_Robert Frost___

_**҉**_

"Would you mind if I sat here?"

David looked up as his compartment door slid open and saw a girl who looked like she was a first year, like him. Of course, if she wasn't a first year, there would be no way she would have any desire to be near him, so the fact that she wanted to sit with Davey only proved to him that she was a first year.

"Of course not, come on in." he replied.

"Thanks. My name is Katie, by the way." She said as the girl moved to enter the compartment, dragging a trunk behind her.

"I'm David. Here, let me help you with that." The boy introduced himself before taking the girl's trunk and lifting it onto the luggage rack for her after noticing her slight struggle.

"Thank you. Are you going to be a first year? I am." Katie asked as she sat in the seat across from the one David was sitting in.

"Yes, but I've always lived at Hogwarts so the only thing different about this year for me is getting to go to classes."

"Why do you live at Hogwarts?"

"My father is a Professor." David explained.

"Really? That's awesome, I never really thought about a Professor at the school having a family. What was it like, growing up at a school?"

"Well…it had some positives and some negatives. I didn't really get to talk to too many people because I was the only child of a Professor at the school and none of the students wanted to be around a little kid," _Among other reasons… _"but I got to read all the library books I wanted and some of the professors were always willing to teach me little things. I spent a lot of time helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, so I know a lot about healing people. My favorite part of living at the school was getting to explore all the castle's secrets, though."

"I've always heard that there are lots of hidden passages through the school. Do you think you could show me some of the more useful ones?"

"Sure. There are a ton of shortcuts going from the common rooms that make it easier to get to the classrooms and all kinds of other places that get used a lot."

"Great! My brother told me I would get lost a lot during my first week or two; maybe I won't get lost so much if I use the shortcuts." Katie looked relieved that she would have a chance to not get lost, and David was just glad to help.

"If we're in the same house I can show you around and help you learn the way to our classes, if you want."

David began to wonder why he was allowing himself to be hopeful that they could be friends. He knew that she wouldn't want anything to do with him, just like all the older students, once she had her first lesson with his father.

"Do you know which house you want to be in?" She asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

David thought for a moment about this. He'd always thought he would just let the Sorting Hat decide, but he'd had a discussion with his father the night before about all the benefits to each house, and he wasn't so sure about just letting the Hat decide anymore. Just before Katie had arrived in his compartment he'd pretty much decided on a house after weighing the pros and cons very carefully.

"I think…I think I'd like to be a Ravenclaw."

"Wow, you're the first person I've ever asked who didn't say either Gryffindor or Slytherin. My cousins on my mother's side were all Slytherins, but my family has always been Gryffindors, so I hope that's where I go. What makes you say Ravenclaw?"

"I like to learn and, according to most of the Hogwarts Professors who'll give me the time of day, I catch on fairly quickly. I think I could fit into either Gryffindor or Slytherin, but I wouldn't want to be a Gryffindor because I don't think Professor McGonagall would never let my father hear the end of it. And I don't really want to be a Slytherin because my mother was a Gryffindor and I wouldn't want to be in a house where they are always feuding with my mother's old house. I feel it would dishonor her memory." _ And because it would only fuel the accusations that my father favors Slytherins._

Katie was quiet for a minute, perhaps because she realized that his mother must be dead if it would dishonor her _memory_ for him to be a Slytherin and she wasn't sure what to say.

The train ride passed with little excitement, but the two spent the whole ride talking about a little bit of everything. All through the trip, Katie noticed that David had a rather distracting habit of tapping his fingers on the window or his leg or anything really, or twirling his quill through them, but she never noticed that he kept a precise pattern with the amount of times his finger tapped or how many times his quill was twirled through his fingers. This was mostly because the pattern was invisible to anyone but himself.

The arrival at Hogsmeade was likewise uneventful, but while crossing the lake in the little boats with Hagrid something interesting happened.

He giant squid made his first appearance of the year and came right up to the boat that David and Katie were sharing with two other first years. What happened next wasn't entirely unexpected to David, because he and the squid had not been on civil terms since the incident with Peeves…but that is a story for another time. The squid floated up to the surface and while all the others were fascinated, David was filled with a sense of dread.

_I wish the squid would just get on with it instead of enjoying all this attention._

And get on with it is exactly what the squid did. He (or she, no one has ever really thought it would be a good idea to check) reached one of its many legs out of the water and snatched David out of his boat before hurling him through the air about 30 meters, well away from the boats and toward the center of the Black Lake. While flying through the air, David had the brief thought that it was a good thing his father had made sure he could swim, otherwise he would've drowned years ago thanks to either the squid or Peeves. The thought was barely formed when he sunk under the surface of the lake. He allowed himself a moment to make sure he had quit moving from the squid's toss before swimming back to the surface and making his way back to the boats. David was thankful that the squid seemed to think he had stirred up enough trouble for that night and decided not to interfere with David's return to the boats.

He was also thankful when Hagrid picked him up by the back of his soaked robes and deposited him back into the boat with Katie rather than allow him to try and struggle his way back into the boat without tipping it over.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Katie asked with a muffled giggle once he was back in the boat and they were heading for the castle.

"No." David replied dryly. "The squid hasn't liked me since the time I was dropped from the fourth floor and fell into the Black Lake, nearly poking its eye out in the process."

She gasped, shocked, and before she could ask David said "It's a long story."

The first years were soon shuffled into the Entrance Hall and David found himself wishing he'd bothered learning the charm to dry himself off. It had never really been on his list of priorities. He found himself curious about how much of a fit Filch would throw when he saw the amount of water that David had dripped onto the floor.

He and Katie were close to the door where the Transfiguration Professor entered the room from and he heard a muttered "Oh, honestly, David…" when she saw him soaking wet. He soon felt himself warming up and drying off and he assumed she had sent a helpful spell or two in his direction. He gave her a sheepish grin the next time she looked in his direction and mouthed a polite "Thank you." He took her nod to mean "You're welcome."

Professor McGonagall was one of the six adults, aside from his father, who didn't hate David. The others, along with the students, all pretty much considered him to be the spawn of the devil.

She told all the students the names of the four houses and what would be expected of them before giving them a moment to smarten themselves up and then leading them into the Great Hall.

David was mildly amused at the wild theories being traded about how they were to be sorted. He distinctly heard one boy comment on how a friend of his brother had mentioned fighting off a three-headed dog.

_Ridiculous. They would never have a first year fight off a Cerberus. _

The Sorting Hat made quick work of its song and David barely bothered to listen, seeing as he'd heard plenty of them before.

Before long he heard Professor McGonagall announce the first name on her scroll.

"Belby, Marcus"

"**Ravenclaw" **was the immediate response from the Hat upon touching the head of the thin and nervous-looking boy.

"Bell, Katie"

The hat took its time before announcing that Katie was to get her wish and become a Gryffindor.

"Chang, Cho" joined Marcus Belby as a Ravenclaw.

"Corran, Daisy" became the first Hufflepuff.

And on it went…

The first Slytherin was "Frobisher, Vicky"

And still the list went on until "Sky, Richard" became a Hufflepuff.

David knew he was next and he was prepared for the sneering faces and hush that fell over the crowd as McGonagall announced "Snape, David"

He walked calmly up to the stool in the front of the Hall and put the Sorting Hat on top of his head, where it sank to cover his eyes.

"_Well, well, well. You ARE an interesting one, aren't you?"_

"_Whatever you say."_David thought back to the Hat.

"_I can tell that you want to be a Ravenclaw, but are you sure you wouldn't rather be a Gryffindor? After all, I can see that you know it's where you belong. "_

"_I know what memories you are looking at, but I don't believe a word those portraits said. It was all a hoax. Go on and put me in Ravenclaw, please."_

The Hat snorted_. "You never were one to see sense, little Godric. _RAVENCLAW!"

There was no applause, except for the polite applause of Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, and that died rather quickly when no one joined in, but David didn't expect any different. As the few remaining first years were sorted, David puzzled over the Hat's final remark.

_Could it be that….No, the portraits were lying, and the Hat's going senile in its old age._ But, deep down, David still wondered, long after he told himself that the portraits were lying, if it were possible that they spoke the truth.

҉

While the Prefects led the new students up to Ravenclaw Tower, David let his mind wander. He knew this castle _better_ than he knew the back of his hand and didn't need to be led to a doorway he could find in his sleep. As always, some portion of David's brain was not focused on what he was thinking, but was focused instead on making sure his feet were following whatever pattern that presented itself to him. Usually the patttern involved only stepping on every-other stone in the hallway, but sometimes it was as odd as zig-zagging across the hallways in order to oly step on stones that were diagonally located next to the previous one.

The Prefects showed the first years the way to use the entrance to the common room by knocking and waiting to be asked a question by the eagle. The prefects had the first years answer the question, saying it would be good practice for them.

David pesonally thought that they didn't know the answer, because of the confused glance that he caught them sharing. Luckily for the prefects, Eddie Carmichael knew the answer right away. David did too, of course, but Eddie was more eager to show off than David was and answered rather quickly.

A few minutes later, once all of the Ravenclaw students were settled into the common room, Professor Flitwick arrived to give a few announcements for the beginning of the year.

"Welcome, to all our new students! And, of course, welcome back to everyone else! I'm sure all you older students will already know this, but curfew is 9 Pm for anyone third year and below and 10 PM for fourth through sixth years. Seventh years, you have until 10:45, and not a moment later." A cheer went through the seventh years, they were clearly exxcited about their later curfew. "I want everyone to remember that Mr. Filch is quite serious about his list of contraband items because they are contraband for your own good and we don't need another incident like two years ago."

David remembered the 'incident' that the diminutive Professor was referring to. It was quite impossible to forget, to tell the truth. The Head Boy, a fellow named Jordan Jones, was determined to study as much as possible for his NEWTs. He had been taking Baruffio's Brain Elixer mixed with a few other, highly potent, potions. The end effect was a mental breakdown at breakfast one morning where he began spouting out random facts at the top of his lungs while throwing porridge at the younger Hufflepuffs and acting like the pumpking juice jug was the examiner for the Care of Magical Creatures exam, but Jones wasn't taking Care of Magical Creatures and couldn't seem to get the examiner to believe him. As it turned out, Jones had been awake for nearly a week and a half and, once he was safely tied to a bed in the Hospital Wing, he slept for a good four days without waking once. Upon his revival, Jones went through withdrawal because of not being allowed the dangerous mix of potions that he was quite addicted to. The delerious and pained screams could be heard two floors away from the Hospital Wing. Once back in his right mind, Jones was stripped of his Head Boy status and put in detention for the remaining three months of term. It was possibly the biggest disgrace Ravenclaw had suffered in two decades.

"Remember to be on time for breakfast tomorrow to get your schedules, everyone. Now, that's all I really have to say to our third years and up, so you all should head upstairs to get settled down for the night. Forst and second years, please remain here for a few more moments.

"I must say I was surprised at how few new students we got this year. Ravenclaw has always been a slightly smaller house, especially compared to the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, but it has been a while since we only had five new students. Regardless, I'd like to welcome you little ones into Ravenclaw. I know for a fact that the other houses don't do this, but here in Ravenclaw we tradition that I'm quite fond of. Rowena Ravenclaw herself started this tradition, so I hope you can all appreciate how ingrained into our house's history this is.

"Here at Hogwarts there are many things that first years sometimes have difficulty adjusting to. In Ravenclaw, we assign all first years a second year mentor to help guide them through their year. If you have a question about anything, anything at all, you should look to your mentor for answers. They are here to help. Now for your pairings. Mr. Snape, I'd like you to be partnered with Mr. Davies. Ms. Edgecombe, you shall be with…"

David quit listening. He glanced toward Roger Davies and nearly winced at the glare he was receiving.

_I guess it was too much to hope that he didn't hate my dad._

From what the Potions Professor had told his son, Roger Davies was a particularly hopeless case when it came to the subtle science and exact art that was potion-making. And Davies had been on the receiving end of plenty of point losses, toungue-lashings, and detentions from Professor Snape. David wasn't really expecting much of a worm welcome from Roger Davies. Not at all.

"Alright, then. I guess you should all go to bed. Ladies, you'll find your dormitories up the staircase to the right. Gentlemen, the same to the right. Goodnight."

Once Professor Flitwick dissapeared through the common room's entrance, Davies wasted no time in letting David Snape know exactly what he thought of being his 'mentor'. "Listen, kid. I don't like you, and I don't like your dad. If you know what's good for you, you won't be hanging around and bothering me with questions. I may not be very good with potions, but I am bloody brilliant with curses, if you get my drift. " Davies swept away in what he probably thought was an impressive manner, but after living with Severus Snape for as long as he had, David was unimpressed by Davies' attempt to be intimidating.

David made his way up to the first year boys' dorm and found his trunk next to the bed by the window. He got himself ready for bed, and fell asleep nearly instantly. It had been a long day, and he was too tired to bother with staying up any longer, for any reason.

Consequently, David forgot to do his daily Occlumency practices. When David didn't clear his mind before sleep, he tended to have interesting dreams. Mostly the dreams were memories that should have been long forgotten, like the one that David had that night. The night of the First of September brought with it the memory of a night that changed David's life. The night of October thirty-first 1981.

҉

David was up before any others in the entire Ravenclaw Tower the next morning.

He got dressed and packed his bag full of anything he might need that day. Carefully organizing all the bags contents by size, he put all his textbooks into his bak instead of leaving them in his trunk which he promptly locked. He then checked that it was locked properly. Twice. He didn't trust anyone in the Tower not to mess with his belongings.

At breakfast, Harry received his schedule and found, to his surprise, that Potions wasn't on the schedule. Ever. He asked Professor Flitwick about it, and the half-goblin told him that it was against school policy for a Professor to teach their own children. There was some school rule put in place nearly four centuries ago that made it so children of Professors had to learn the subject on their own time, to avoid the chance that their marks would be graded with a bias , but the student still had to take final exams and OWLs in whichever subject their parent taught, because those were Ministry-scored and there was no chance that a Professor could change the outcome to favor their child.

It wasn't really like the lack of a Potions class would actually affect David, though. His father had been teaching him potionmaking since before David even knew his way around the castle. Come to think of it, David had been learning whatever he could since he learned to read.

David looked for Katie so that he could show her the way to her first class and eventually he noticed her waving at him from the Entrance Hall. David happily made his way through the crowds of students toward Katie. As it turned out, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had the first half of their Mondays together. They both had Charms first and then Katie had double Potions while David would have free study period while the other Ravenclaws went to Potions with the Gryffindors.

In the first Charms lesson of the year, most of the class consisted of going through what Professor Flitwick would expect from them this year and what some of the things they would be learning were. All in all, it was a rather dull lesson.

Since David was the only one who knew his way around the castle out of all the first years, while he led Katie down to the Potions classroom all the other first years tagged along behind them. If it bothered David that they were expecting him to be fine with leading them all over the place when they hadn't shown any inclination toward wanting anything else to do with him, he didn't let it show.

David was just glad that it seemed the other, older, Gryffindors hadn't managed to make Katie want to avoid him yet. He was making the most of the time he had with someone like a friend before someone or something managed to convince her that Snapes were to be avoided at all costs.

While walking to the dungeons, David explained to Katie, and consequently all the other first years who were right behind them, about why he wouldn't be taking Potions with them.

Once they reached the classroom, David left group behind to wait at the door and he made his way up to the library where he would spend the time between then and lunch studying. He spent the next few hours reading a book on Legilimency that his father had given him for his birthday. The elder Snape had been teaching his son Occlumency for years, but had told him he wouldn't be teaching him Legilimency until he was at least halfway through his first year. David was looking forward to learning Legilimency and was determined to read as much as he could about it in an effort to be prepared when his father finally let him actually attempt it.

According to the book, it was a lot simpler to learn and master Legilimency if one was familiar enough with their own mind. In other words, the better you were at Occlumency, the easier it was to get good at Legilimency.

David found himself glad his father had insisted he learn Occlumency before attempting Legilimency, not that that was the only reason he was required to learn Occlumency. But that was another story for another time.

When the bell rang for lunch, David gladly made his way to the Great Hall. A few corridors away from the marble staircase that led to the Entrance Hall, David heard an evil and distinctly Peeves-like cackling and had to take a detour through a secret passage to avoid the menace.

In the Great Hall he waved to Katie when he noticed her looking at him, but once he looked closer he noticed that she looked distinctly unhappy. When she saw his wave, it was not returned and she turned her face away to look at something else that he couldn't see.

One of the other first year Ravenclaws, Cho Chang, saw him wave and said in a derisive tone "I'd be surprised if she ever talks to you again."

"What do you mean?" He asked, already having a clue what the answer would be. He should've known his father would manage to be cruel to the one student to be something like a friend to him.

He would have to talk to his dad and find out it the act was worth being so hated.

"That greasy bat down in the dungeons that you call a father made her cry. He stopped her from adding an ingredient to the Boil Solution a little early and yelled at her for ages about how she must be incapable of reading simple instructions. He was terrible to her, and it waas only a simple mistake!"

"Sometimes in Potions a simple mistake can blow up a classroom!" As awful as David knew his father sometimes had to act to keep up his role, David still wasn't going to listen to someone bash his father.

"She didn't mean to make a mistake, and he didn't have to blow up at her like that!" The first years yelling at each other were beginning to attract a bit of attention, and if there was one thing David hated it was being the center of attention.

He lowered his voice so that the entire Hall wouldn't be able to hear his last comment as he returned his bag to his shoulder and prepared to leave. In an action far too reminiscent of his father, David gathered his full hat and loomed over the pretty asian girl. "Sometimes Potions are dangerous. I don't think Katie will make the same mistake with another Potion, so its clear that, while a bit excessive, Professor Snape's methods are effective. Be glad he cares enough not to let you all blow yourselves up into little pieces." He then swept out of the Great Hall, robes flowing out behind him in a way that would make students of all ages remember the man they had taken to calling the Bat of the Dungeons.

҉

Cho was right, Katie didn't speak with David again. The entire first week of class she avoided him whenever possible.

David threw himself into his studies. No one in Ravenclaw wanted anything to do with it, and neither did any other student.

That first weekend, David spent the whole weekend hidden away in his father's quarters and avoiding the world. He had the suspicious feeling that his father knew why he was suddenly intersted in spending even more time around him than usual, but Severus Snape didn't say anything about it. He made a point of continuing to teach David's lessons that they'd been working on for years. Ever since he'd told his father about how he could remember everything that had ever happened to him, at least since his first birthday, and his father had asked him about _that_ Halloween, he'd been teaching him everything he could.

Among David's favorite things his father has taught him is a special form of Martial Arts that the Snape family has passed down for dozens of generations. This is a form of martial arts that only wizards are capable of, because it uses their magic and blends it with their bodily control and strength. It was a specialty of the Snape family, and it was what allowed them to blend in with the shadows. And it tended to help the Snapes kick butt in a physical fight too. Of course, David wasn't anywhere near his father's level, seeing as he was only eleven, but for an eleven year old he did alright.

It was remarkably calming to spar against his father and it allowed him to focus on something other than his crushed hopes that he could have just _one_ friend for once in his lifetime.

By the time David fell asleep in his room in his father's quarters in the dungeons on Sunday night, he was ready to return to the mobs of sneering students. He had a new resolve; he would not allow another student to affect him in such a way again. Not one snide remark or tripping jinx would get beneath his skin in such a way that he would flee to the dungeons again.

It was time for David to face the facts: no one would befriend him, he couldn't trust anyone outside the quarters he currently slept in, because _everybody _lies and has an ulterior motive, even the portraits, and the world wouldn't wait for him to grow up, he needed to step up and start preparing for what he knew was coming.

When it came time to surface into the school again Monday morning, David squared his shoulders and set his jaw, took a deep breath, and opened his bedroom door. As he swept through the Potions Master's quarters and to the exit into the dungeons, he caught a glimpse of his father's approving expression.

At the breakfast table in the Great Hall, David realized no one had noticed he went missing for the weekend, either that or they hadn't cared. This only strengthened his resolve. Come hell or high water, he wouldn't let these dunderheaded children have any control over him any longer.

And thus began what David was sure would be a lonely tenure at Hogwarts.

҉

Author's Note- Voila! I think this is much better than my original attempt.

The first person who guesses what David's condition that I gave hints to him having was will get credit in the next chapter I post. I have left a few clues, but I don't know if anyone will get it yet. And no, the chapter doesn't specifically state the condition, or that he even has some sort of condition.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I really believe that you people should know by now that J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and that she does not need to write Fan-Fiction, so there is no way I am her.

Author's Note- Warning! Ron-bashing ahead. I don't like Ron; he's always been a prat and was never properly loyal to his friends and was never much use, so I'm going to make him be shown as entirely useless and rotten. The thought makes me smile and laugh semi-maniacally. ;)

This chapter also changes POV a few times. I made sure to put a break in the text each time the view changes, and, as always, _thoughts are in italics_. If the POV changes confuse people make sure to let me know and I'll try not to do it anymore, but I think I make it clear who the view is focusing on every change. Thanks.

_**I added a bit to the end of Chapter One! You might need to read that if you read Chapter One before 6-22-11. Thanks.**_

"_Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it."__  
>— <em>_Robert Frost_

҉

_CHAPTER TWO_

Jean Granger wasn't really as sure about this whole School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as she let her daughter think. The Doctors Granger had always known that there was something special about their little girl, but they had never thought to suspect that Hermione had _magic_. Looking back on it, Jean supposed it made sense. _Odd_ sorts of things had always happened around Hermione, ever since she was old enough to crawl.

But never, _never_, did any of the Grangers suspect that Hermione was a witch. When that kind little man, what was his name…ah, yes, Flitwick, when Professor Flitwick had shown up on their doorstep a week after Hermione's eleventh birthday last September and started talking about how Hermione was a witch, Hermione had immediately fallen in love with the idea of unraveling the mystery of an entirely new world. During their very first trip to Diagon Alley, the elder Grangers had thought their daughter would pass out at the sight of all the _books._ Hermione was hooked on the thrilling idea of being a witch.

But Jean Granger just wasn't too sure about the whole idea. Professor Flitwick had assured her that Hogwarts was the best possible education and that it was perfectly safe, but Jean Granger didn't think having her daughter learn curses and jinxes and all that other nonsense sounded too safe.

She had tried to subtly convince her daughter not to do this, to just go to that accelerated learning center that she'd been accepted to instead, but she couldn't make her daughter listen.

It had been nearly a year since they'd discovered magic and known that Hermione would leave them for her school, but it didn't stop the Grangers' hearts from breaking as they had the feeling that their little girl would never be the same once that scarlet train finished pulling out of the station.

҉

As David Snape exited the loo he was nearly run over by a girl with a bushy mass of brown hair, but the little girl didn't stop her running.

He heard a faint snickering coming from somewhere in the direction the girl had run from and saw a rather stupid-looking boy with flaming-red hair and freckles. David had seen more Weasleys than he cared to think about over the year at Hogwarts, and he recognized this to be one immediately.

Most of the Weasleys had been, admittedly, quite brilliant and talented. Bill had been Head Boy and incredibly talented in Ancient Runes. The one that had graduated last year, Charlie, was a Quidditch captain and fascinated with animals. The twins were complete menaces, but they were brilliant enough to invent the items used in their pranks. All four of those Weasleys had seemed to be both, at least somewhat, kind and smart.

This one wasn't doing a good job of making himself appear either. David had the sneaking suspicion that the little Weasley was the reason the girl had been running off. And he was not making himself appear too smart just from the expression on his face. It was the worst impersonation of a sneer David had seen in ages. And the kid was muttering to himself, the same words over and over again. "Did you know you've got dirt on your nose?" in a high pitched voice. David didn't really get what the kid's obsession with that question was, but the Weasley _did_ have a bit of dirt on his nose. David had to resist the urge to roll his eyes and hex the little bugger when he heard him snort derisively "Uppity little mudblood."

_I've never heard such language from a Weasley!_

Instead, David turned on his heel and headed in the other direction. He'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't get involved in the affairs of other students, especially over something as trivial as a first year's hurt feelings.

He was outside his compartment looking through the window by the time he realized the girl was in there sobbing.

_Ugh! A crying girl in my compartment? What am I supposed to do about that? I suppose I could go someplace else until she leaves…but, no, my book is in there._

David sighed as he quietly opened the door to his compartment and tried to surreptitiously grab his book off of the seat and leave without attracting the girls notice, but he had no such luck. The edge of his book hit the door of the compartment as he tried to ease it through the small opening he had made and the girl started.

_It's no use; I'll have to go in there now. But there's a crying girl in there, why do these things happen to me?_

"Oh…Er…Hello." She wasn't looking at him, clearly embarrassed to be caught crying.

"Hello." He said, reluctantly entering the compartment.

"I'm sorry, you we're sitting here, weren't you? I'll just leave."

"It's alright, you can stay." David said, kindly, all the while wondering _why _he had offered that.

_Because you know how it feels to be alone and friendless, which it appears she is. _Commented a little voice in the back of his head.

"Thank you. My name's Hermione, Hermione Granger."

"David Snape. Do you mind if I ask why you nearly ran me over in the hallway and then I find you crying in my compartment?"

She looked at him, suddenly tearing her tear-filled eyes away from her lap where they'd been focused previously, with a horrified expression. "Oh! Did I do that? I didn't even notice! I'm so sorry. It was just that _horrible_ boy. All I was doing was trying to help Neville find his toad, and then I noticed that rude little red-head, I don't know if you saw him or not, was about to do some magic, so I stopped my search to watch. Well, his spell didn't work. It sounded rather made up, if you ask me, so I told him so. He started yelling about uppity little mudbloods having no business making fun of him; I promise I wasn't trying to make fun of him! Then he shoved me out of the compartment and said that if I kept on behaving in such a way, I would never make any friends. So I left and when I saw no one was in here, I came in."

By the end of her little spiel David was in shock, wondering how in the name of Merlin she had said all that while stopping for _maybe_ two breaths.

But apparently that wasn't the end of it. He barely contained a relieved sigh when all that she said was one simple, or not so simple, question. "Do you know what he meant when he called me a mudblood?"

David grimaced at the question.

_How to explain this delicately?_

"It's a rather foul name for someone who is a child of two muggles, people without magic. It's not a word one often hears in polite conversation. I, for one, find it a repulsive word for anyone to use. It's mostly used by stuck-up purebloods, that is, people who have had all magical families for more than three generations, who believe that people who are closely related to muggles shouldn't be allowed in wizarding society because they aren't worthy."

David knew it wasn't exactly nice of him to tell the girl she wasn't welcome by some people in their society, but he felt it would be even worse of him to go off to Hogwarts ignorant of what she would soon be facing. And besides, when had Snapes begun to care about how others felt?

"That's awful. Why would they ever believe that some humans are worth less than others?" The tears had stopped falling now and instead they were replaced with the fire of righteous indignation.

"It's just old prejudices that refuse to die, Granger. There is no proof that muggleborn students do any worse than pureblood students. In fact, some pureblood families are so filled with inbreeding from trying to keep their line pure that their children have some nasty defects. Some of them are so stupid that they couldn't manage to pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel; and a lot of them are so weak that they're nearly squibs. A squib is basically the opposite of a muggleborn, a descendent of a pureblood line that can perform no magic; and, though the purebloods do a good job hiding them, nearly twenty percent of the children born to pureblood lines are squibs."

"They use incest to keep their family pride? That's disgusting! And don't they realize that they're going to end up with a bunch of sick, dumb, and powerless people that way? That might be why that Ronald Weasley was so horrible."

David nearly rolled his eyes; it looked like she was one to hold a grudge.

"Well…put it this way: from what I've seen and heard, from both you and Ronald's older brothers, most of the Weasley family drank from the fountain of knowledge while Ronald only gargled."

"Huh?"

"He's a few boats short of a fleet? As quick as a snail crossing superglue? A few pineapples shy of a luau? Not the brightest crayon in the box? Oh, for Merlin's sake, Granger! Most of the Weasleys are brilliant while Ronald seems to be a little slow."

_Some people just aren't too quick to catch on to metaphors. Shame, really, to waste all those good ones on someone who didn't get them. Oh well, more where those came from. _

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?" The expression on her face was priceless, mostly because it was obvious that she was embarrassed for not catching on to what he meant and mad at herself because she made such an effort to never be confused.

"I was trying to be nice about it." he said dryly. "And I was having fun seeing how many ways I could manage to say it without actually saying it. I've got a few dozen, if you'd like to hear more?"

She laughed a little and said. "Perhaps another time."

҉

"_So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
>And don't get in a flap!<br>You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
>For I'm a Thinking Cap!"<em>

David applauded politely with the rest of the Great Hall's inhabitants as the Sorting Hat finished its song, but he was not afraid to admit that after nine or ten times, the sorting did tend to lose a bit of its novelty.

The sorting began with Hannah Abbot who quickly became a Hufflepuff.

David wasn't altogether interested, though. He was half asleep where he sat after the long day he'd had. He made sure to clap and welcome the newcomers whenever his Housemates did.

He was brought out of his half asleep state by the sound of a familiar name. "Granger, Hermione."

She was trembling a bit, but other than that David couldn't tell that the girl he'd spent the train ride talking with was nervous.

He found it faintly amusing when the Hat didn't manage to sink over her face as it did everyone else's because of her bushy hair. Then he wondered why he was paying attention to her sorting and not the other first years' sortings. He decided it was because he hadn't even met any other first years and therefore didn't have reason to be interested in their sorting. It wasn't like he actually cared where the girl got sorted; he knew better than to even think of trying to make friends with her because she would make friends in her first year classes and then she would meet his father. Both of which counted as reasons for Hermione not to want to be around him, even if she became a Ravenclaw.

He knew better than to hope this time.

While the Sorting Hat took it's time digging into her mind, Hermione looked around the Great Hall, wide eyes taking in many details.

Just as he was beginning to wonder what was taking so long, the Hat's brim opened wide and it shouted out the name of Hermione's future House.

҉

"_Ah, another one! You have a very interesting mind young Lady. It would be possible to put you in many different Houses."_

"Anything but Gryffindor, please; _Anything_ but Gryffindor." Hermione chanted mentally. She did _not_ want to be stuck with Ronald Weasley for seven years, and, if the amount of red hair at the Gryffindor table was anything to go by, that's where he would be sorted.

"_That's an odd request, most who ask for something want either Gryffindor or Slytherin, but with your mind there is no problem for me to put you in _RAVENCLAW_!"_

Hermione whipped the Hat off of her head and hopped off the stool. On her way over to the table beneath the blue and bronze hangings, the one that was cheering the loudest, she saw the boy from the train, David Snape. She wondered how she could have missed the patch on his robes that showed he was in Ravenclaw. She also wondered why he sat alone at the far end of the table, with the nearest person sitting at least two meters away. It was obvious that they were avoiding him because no one else was so far away from other people at the table.

_It's not like he bites, people, really!_

Hermione Granger was quite used to playing the outcast at her old school, and could spot an outcast, like David seemed to be, a kilometer away.

Before spotting David she had been heading toward the other people she had seen sorted into Ravenclaw, the ones that she would go with to classes for the next seven years. Making a last second decision, after seeing David cheering happily for her, she headed to the abandoned corner of the table where he was seated.

When he noticed her aiming to sit near him, David blinked and looked around, as if he were checking to make sure he really was the only one around for her to be heading toward, and gave a slight, tentative grin when he determined that Hermione really was planning to sit next to him.

Hermione grinned right back at him.

҉

The only other sorting David really paid any attention to was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

The Hall was in an uproar when their 'Savior' got sorted into Slytherin. David, and _maybe_ a few staff members, was among the very few people who were ever capable of reading the expressions of the Head of Slytherin: the feared Potions Master, Professor Snape. While the rest of the Hall stared at the one they had expected to be their Gryffindor Golden Boy, David looked to see his father's reaction. If he wasn't as capable of controlling himself as he was, David might've fallen out of his chair with laughter.

He looked like he might die of shock, but only the people who knew him could tell. David had heard his father talk about James Potter and knew that the man was the epitome of all things a Slytherin could hate; he knew that his father expected Harry Potter to be the same. The Professor was sitting perfectly still, his hand still outstretched toward his goblet where he had been reaching before the Hat's announcement, and his eyes were slightly wider than usual.

David knew his father wouldn't appreciate the fact that he had allowed his mask to slip, so he did the only thing he could think of to bring him back to himself. He aimed his wand and, nonverbally, used the _legilimens _spell on his father. He didn't even try to get any information from his father's head while he was in there, because he knew it would be a waste of effort, but he did send one sharp probe at his Occlumency shields, just enough to jar him and catch his attention. It was the mental equivalent of a slap on the face.

He knew it had worked when the Professor suddenly shook out of his trance and then glared in his direction before realizing that it was David that had done it and why. He nodded his head, barely, but enough to let David know that his help was acknowledged and welcome.

No one noticed the exchange because of the chaos that currently reigned supreme in the Great Hall.

Suddenly, David was more awake than he had been the entire feast.

It was a little known fact that David absolutely loved chaos. He thrived on it. If it had been up to him, his middle name would've been Chaos rather than Alexander. The love of mayhem was probably an inherited trait, and it definitely didn't come from Severus Snape.

Author's Note- The whole time I wrote this chapter I had 'God Help the Outcasts' from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame stuck in my head. Just thought you might want to know…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I really don't own this. JK Rowling does. My first initial is not a J, and my second is not a K so I can't own this. Oh, well.

"_Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who  
>think they talk sense."<br>— __Robert Frost_

_CHAPTER THREE_

Everyone was still buzzing about Harry Potter's unexpected sorting results long after they left the feast. It was getting old rather quickly to the people who didn't really care, people like David.

His tiredness was back in full force and he was beginning to wonder if he might be sick because it didn't feel normal to be as tired as he was. Granted, his day had been long, but it hadn't been so long that he should be dead on his feet. He hadn't really done anything strenuous at all that day.

As it was, he was half asleep during Flitwick's speech and only halfway perked up in order to pay attention to who he was going to have to 'mentor' for their first year. He'd gathered on the way up to the Tower that there were ten new Ravenclaws and, with there only being five second years, he had enough mental awareness still that he could tell that meant he would be a mentor to two of the ickle firsties.

_Joy._

He vaguely heard his Head of House tell Marcus Belby that he would mentor Padma Patil and Terry Boot before he heard his own name along with the names Lilith Moon and Hermione Granger. Apparently that was the end of what Professor Flitwick had to tell the little boys and girls, other than which stairway to take up to their respective dormitories and the Professor left them to their own devices.

He saw Hermione and a small girl, unassuming girl with pale skin and dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes heading his direction and he could see the questions that they were burning to ask just sitting there waiting to pounce.

David groaned quietly; he would have to stop them before they started or he would likely fall asleep during their impromptu Q&A session.

Once they were within earshot, the unnaturally tired boy said to the girls "Alright, ladies. I _know _you are just aching to ask a million questions about Hogwarts, and there really is no one more qualified to answer them than me, seeing as I've lived her for over nine years, but I _really_ feel out of sorts at the moment. I don't know that I would be able to answer your questions as fully as I should; do you two mind possibly waiting until tomorrow morning to interrogate me? I could show you the shortcut to the Great Hall and answer your question at breakfast, if you don't mind?"

It wasn't much of a question, more of a well-cloaked command, but they both nodded their agreement and went up their staircase to the first-year girls' dorm.

David stumbled a few times on the staircase, his usual grace failing him in his sleep-fogged state, but eventually made it safely to his warm bed where he fell into the land of nod immediately upon his head's first contact with his pillow.

҉

That night, slumber was not peaceful for the boy who had been so exhausted.

He dreamed of odd, swirling colors and flying through the air unsupported; he dreamed of a life he might have lived, if not for his mother's death, he dreamed of a life with a little brother growing up alongside him. He dreamed of rolling hills and plains covered in nothing but wildflowers, grass, and a forest in the distance. He dreamed that there was a castle being built on the top of the plains. He saw himself, tortured and twitching on the floor of a dark, damp room. He then saw himself looking down in awe at a baby boy in his arms. Next he dreamed of an unnatural darkness invading his vision; a darkness that, no matter how many_ lumos maxima_ spells he cast, would not leave his sight. He dreamed and dreamed until the morning's light called him from his slumber. The last thing he remembered dreaming was the same odd, swirling colors that had begun his night of restless sleep, except the second time they were noticeably brighter and swirling faster than ever.

When he awoke from the sunlight drifting lazily through the window next to his bed, David was confused about what had been happening in his sleep. He could vividly recall all his dreams, something that was very unusual for him.

Upon attempting to extricate his body from the sheets, David realized that he had a _much_ worse problem than simply having vivid memory of his dreams. He was distinctly smaller than he had been when he went to sleep. And his body didn't feel right. Looking down at himself he had to stifle a scream. He was covered in fur, a mix of four colors: orange tan, white and black, and his body was that of a canine's. Carefully getting out from behind the hangings on his bed, he went to get a look at himself in the dorm's mirror, stumbling a few times at the odd feeling of walking on four legs.

He just barely kept from fainting. He was a dog; a Collie from the looks of himself, but he couldn't be sure.

He had no idea what to do, but the only way he could think to get out of this situation was to get help. The only person he knew of that had ever become any sort of animal, other than his father, was Professor McGonagall, but he didn't really think he'd be able to get the message across to her about what was going on. His father would be able to read his mind, if he couldn't figure out what was going on immediately, and if David could get down to the dungeons unnoticed though.

_To the dungeons it is, then. _

He listened carefully and didn't hear anything to signify that either of his roommates was anywhere near waking up. He mentally nodded to himself in satisfaction.

David took a few moments to familiarize himself with the way walking in this body felt before nosing open the dorm door. Standing on the landing outside the door, he listened for sounds of people on the stairs, marveling at the increase in his senses' abilities. He slowly, cautiously, made his way down the stairs; making sure to watch his footing, which he still wasn't sure of. As he walked through the common room, he jumped at every little noise, paranoid that he would be caught. Even though he knew he hadn't done anything to cause this, but he didn't think it was a good idea to be caught this way either.

As he followed his usual path to the Dungeons, David noted that it was quite strange looking at the world from little more than a foot and a half off the ground when you are used to standing around 5'7".

Eventually, maybe fifteen minutes later, he found himself outside the portrait that guarded his father's quarters. The portrait of Mason the Menace was asleep. David could think of no better way to get the portrait's attention, so he did something he'd been avoiding trying so far. It took a few tries to make the noise come out properly, but he got it right on the third try.

_Third time's the charm, I guess. _ He thought as he let out a deep, loud, bark. Standing on two feet, his front paws were situated on the stone wall, David put his mouth as close to Mason's ear as possible and barked one more time.

He stepped off of the wall and back into the torchlight where the portrait would be able to see him as Mason the Menace startled awake.

When the portrait noticed the unfamiliar animal he huffed and muttered "Just wait until the Professor hears about this! Students sneaking dogs into the castle; what will the little devils think up next?" as he turned around and disappeared through the back of his painting. David the dog could only assume, and hope, that Mason had gone to his portrait inside the Potion's Master's quarters to tell him about the unwelcome visitor at the door.

Less than two minutes later, a sleepy-looking Snape arrived to open his door. Once the door was open, David burst into the room; he knew that he would never be invited in seeing as his father wasn't altogether fond of strange animals.

"What the bloody hell are you doing? Whose familiar are you, you crazy animal?" David knew he had shocked his father simply because he knew that his father would usually already have him stunned by this point.

_He must still be half asleep._

Wasting no time, because he knew he would probably be stunned at any moment, once the Professor got out of his stupor, David quickly knocked a bit of parchment off of the coffee table and onto the floor. Looking around he spotted an ordinary, muggle, ballpoint pen on the table as well.

_And better yet, it isn't capped! _

David had never before been so glad that his father believed the muggle writing utensils to be far easier to use than wizard ones and, whenever he was just writing something for himself and no one else to see, preferred to use pens over quills.

Just as his father was regaining his wits, and ability to hex, David got ahold of the pen, somehow holding it with his teeth.

In what was probably the worst chicken-scratch handwriting (_teeth-writing?_, David mentally questioned) anyone had ever seen, David managed to write a small message.

"I'm David" the note said, simply.

Looking up from the message, David noticed that he was being watched curiously. He expected that he must look quite strange; after all, how often did one see a dog writing with a pen? Even in the strange world of magic, it wasn't a common sight.

He gingerly picked the note with his mouth, careful to avoid putting holes through his writing with the sharp teeth he now had, and brought it over to the stunned man who was hovering by the door.

His father took the note from him and read it with a quick glance. "You're David? As in, my son David?"

The boy-turned-dog nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, how did you end up like that?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow.

David gave the best shrug that he could, all the while wondering how his father could expect much of an answer when he couldn't speak.

"I'm supposed to believe that you have no clue how you became a dog?" Another nod. "Can you become a human again?"

David shook his head 'no' as best as he could. He imagined it was a funny sight, what with his long hair flopping around as he did.

"Of course not." His father muttered.

The Professor then went over to one of his many bookshelves and looked over the titles before pulling one of the smaller tomes off of the top shelf. He flipped through it for a moment before finding what he had apparently been looking for.

He read through the page a few times before he was satisfied and then turned to his son and raised his wand.

David had been sitting quietly on the rug by the fireplace as he watched his father, but when he saw his actions he suddenly became a bit apprehensive.

_It looked like he just learned whatever spell he's planning to shoot in my direction. Do I really want a spell he hasn't perfected on someone else being shot at me? Ooh, too late to do anything now!_

And it really was too late; a bright blue spell was already heading toward the dog on the rug, who was cowering with his front paws over his eyes.

He was only somewhat comforted by the fact that he felt himself turn back into a twelve year old boy. It was a disconcerting feeling, almost like melting back into his own body; it was almost as uncomfortable as waking up and suddenly finding himself a dog.

When he opened his eyes again, David found himself under the disapproving stare of Severus Snape.

"Now, do you want to explain why you were trying to turn into your animagus form when I've told you before that I would teach you when you turned fourteen?"

_What? I didn't try to do anything. Granted, I have been doing the meditating to find out what my form is, but I never even did enough to find out my form! And I definitely never took the next steps to make myself actually transform!_

"I didn't become a dog on purpose! I had some strange dreams and when I woke up I was a dog!" David defended.

"Well, the spell I had to use on you is the one that is used to force an animagus to return to their human form. How do you explain that?"

"I don't really know…"David mumbled, trying to think of how he had turned into a dog, which was apparently his animagus form, without knowing how. "All I know is I had a bunch of funny dreams, most of them had me at various ages doing things I know I've never done and a couple were some odd swirling colors, and when I woke up I was a dog."

David knew he had said something significant to his father by the way his head was now turned at an angle and he was observing him like he would a rare potions ingredient. The stare was calculating and thoughtful.

David waited patiently, knowing that if he interrupted his father's train of thought he might not get the answer he was looking for.

"Swirling colors, you say? Were they the first thing you saw when you went to sleep and the last thing before you woke up? And did they become brighter and more violent between the two times you saw them?" David answered all three questions with a yes, knowing that his father surely must know what had happened simply because his questions were absolutely correct every time.

"How did you feel before you fell asleep last night, was there anything unusual about how you felt?"

"Tired. It started a few minutes before the train arrived in Hogsmeade, and I was practically dead on my feet the rest of the night until I could get to my bed. I was nearly asleep during the sorting." David heard the older man mumble "Everyone sleeps during the sorting; I would if I wasn't a teacher and didn't need to set an example." But he continued on despite the interruption. "I was lucky that I have photographic memory and that I've always counted my steps, because I think without either of those I would've run into more walls than my body could handle since I was practically sleepwalking on the way back to the Tower. And it seemed like the second I fell asleep the dreams started."

"If what I think happened is what actually happened, then I am surprised that you managed to last as long as you did before falling asleep. Most people would've passed out in their pudding."

"What was it? I would like to understand why I woke up as a furry little dog last night!" David was slightly annoyed that his father hadn't clued him in yet, and was wondering if it wouldn't be faster to just go to the library and figure it out for himself.

"Don't hurry me; I was getting to it. Have you ever heard of-"

҉…..҉…҉

҉…҉

҉

Author's Note- Mwahahaha! Not much of a cliffhanger, but I think it's a little suspenseful; or it might be if you're really into the story.

OOH! And if you're really into the story, you might do me a favor and REVIEW! (I don't have a single review yet. *Sad, pleading, puppy dog eyes*) Please, please, please!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note- I would like to thank my reviewer! (You know who you are! I think I love you because you reviewed. *not in a creepy way*)

_CHAPTER FOUR_

_"There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies."  
>— <em>_Robert Frost_

҉

Hermione Granger was not a naturally suspicious person, just naturally intelligent, but she did become a little suspicious when David appeared in the common room wearing his pajamas and a dazed expression. Anyone was bound to wonder what that was about. It's just odd for people to wonder the school in their nightclothes, isn't it?

_Well, I surely wouldn't be caught wondering about in my pajamas._

From the glassy look in his eyes and far-off expression, Hermione assumed that David wasn't very aware of his surrounding; she was proven wrong.

Without even seeming to glance in her direction in the nearly empty common room, he knew she was there. "Hello, Granger. If you'll wait a bit, I can be down in less than half an hour and I'll show you the way to the Great Hall."

Hermione nodded in response, knowing he wasn't really paying attention to her answer since he was already gone. She knew that they had plenty of time to get down to breakfast and she was in no hurry. The time was only barely 6:30 and Professor Flitwick had told them breakfast didn't end until 7:45 and their first class wouldn't start until 8.

Hermione wasn't even sure why she was awake and dressed, sitting in the common room and reading a book already, so early. She'd always been an early riser; her dad had teased plenty of times that she often awoke before the roosters could crow.

By the time David appeared by her chair, Hermione was so engrossed in her book that she'd failed to notice him. When she finally saw him, she started a bit before glancing at the clock on the wall and noticing that he'd been gone a little over twenty minutes and she'd barely noticed that five had passed.

_I really need to be more aware of life around me while I read…How long has he been standing there?_

"Good book?" he asked, amusement shining in his dark, emerald eyes and a small smirk on his lips.

"Yeah, I guess." Hermione answered, sheepishly.

"Do you want to go see if that other girl, I think her name was Moon, is planning to go to breakfast with us? I suppose as your mentor it's up to me to make sure the two of you make it to breakfast and classes today."

"Sure, I'll be right back."

҉

David watched as the girl bounced up the staircase that leads to the girls dorms. While he was showering he'd come to the realization that he was breaking his resolve not to have any sort of interest in other students. He had become too comfortable around Granger and had decided to put a bit of distance between them.

Of course, he would be sure to do his duty as a mentor and make sure the girls both knew what to expect at the castle, but he wouldn't allow himself to have any sort of actual _interest _in the Granger girl. He would have to start separating himself from her immediately if he wanted to avoid hurting her feelings in the long run, he knew.

_And why exactly do I care if I hurt her feelings? It's not as if I _should_ care. She means nothing to me, after all._ _Granger's just another first year._

It wasn't long before the bushy-haired girl came back down the staircase, a crease between her eyebrows showing that she was clearly deep in thought.

The expression struck a chord in David's memory, but he couldn't figure out why and that worried him; he'd had an impeccable memory for as long as he could remember, which happened to be quite a long time back. The fact that he _couldn't_ place why something seemed familiar was bothersome. Of course, he didn't allow his face to show that he was bothered; that was _not_ something he would ever allow.

"Lilith says she'll go with Padma, Terry and Cho." David wondered about the disapproval in her voice at Cho's name, but he just raised an eyebrow in question, looking strikingly similar to the dungeon-dwelling Potions Master because of the move, and shrugged before turning to the common room's exit. He didn't hear any footsteps following him, so he called to her over his shoulder "Are you still planning to walk with me or would you rather walk with them?" He didn't stop walking as he asked, mostly because he didn't really care if she thought him rude. If she stayed and waited for the others, it would help him be rid of her faster and he wouldn't have to worry about becoming interested in the girl.

David was slightly disappointed that the girl hurried to follow behind him.

"So…Is there anything in particular that I should know about anyone here? The teachers, I mean." It was a valiant attempt at starting a conversation after walking for over five minutes in a silence that was sure to be awkward for the girl.

"Since this is your first year here, you'll only be taking the basic classes that everyone takes: Potions with Professor Snape, Charms with Professor Flitwick, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrel, Astronomy with Professor Sinistra, Flying with Madam Hooch, and History of Magic with Professor Binns.

"Read ahead in Transfiguration and Potions, the Professors might not show it but they appreciate students being prepared. In Potions, don't ask questions until Professor Snape has finished his explanations for the day; also, don't volunteer to answer every question he asks, even if you know all the answers because he prefers giving every student a chance to demonstrate their lack of knowledge. In Charms there is no need to read ahead, because Professor Flitwick will take everything very slowly, especially at first, and you will have plenty of time to catch on to whatever he is teaching. Astronomy and Flying are the same as Charms. Both Professor Quirrel and Binns are jokes. You'll need to learn most everything for those classes independently; Quirrel stutters to such an extent that nothing he manages to say is understandable and Binns has a voice that could put an insomniac to sleep. Be sure to bring your book to every class, because you will need it."

"I thought Professor Quirrel was new here because of how the Headmaster introduced him to the school last night. How do you know he stutters?"

"He taught here three years ago, but he took a break from teaching to go travel the world. I remember how aggravating it was to try and talk with him back then, and it's only gotten worse since then. I attempted to speak with him last week and it was torture."

Granger was looking at him like he was a puzzle. "I thought you were a second year, why were you here three years ago? And for that matter, why were you here last week?"

"Do you remember my last name?"

"Snape, right?" she responded immediately, obviously wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Now, what did I tell you the Potions Professor's name was?" David had actually been expecting her to notice earlier that he and the Potions Professor shared a name, and would be seriously disappointed if she didn't put one and one together to make two rather quickly.

"Oh!" The answer to her questions had clearly just come to her. "The Potions Professor is Professor Snape! So, is he your dad?"

"Yes. I've lived at the castle for around ten years."

It was at this point in time that they arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast. Neither of them had noticed, but they'd been getting a few odd looks from the castle's other inhabitants, mostly because a majority of the students had _never_ actually seen the son of their dreaded Potions Professor speaking with anyone besides a teacher. The students who had little else to do besides gossip were already plotting out some nasty rumors that they could spread with the sole intention of making the girl who would speak with the school's outcast have a miserable seven years at Hogwarts.

҉…..҉…..҉

҉…..҉

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Author's Note- Ugh, that was a miserable chapter to write. And worry not, because you will discover exactly what the Snape boys discussed in the next chapter, I think. Maybe. Eh, we'll see. Anyway, that's the plan for now.

Please review! Reviews make me happy.

21ShootingStars.


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